Irresponsible Captain Tylor OVA Box

By Jonathan Zeledon
February 05, 2002Release Date: October 09, 2001

The Review!The Captain Tylor series has always been a favorite among many anime fans. However, it is a bit underrated compared to some of the flashier anime titles out there. Yet, it does manage to hold some of the more important elements that make a great anime; namely the story. The OVA box set released by The Right Stuf, Inc. will not disappoint.

AUDIO

The audio is clear and does not pose any serious problems. This is very good to know because the Tylor OVAs contain some of the best music heard in an anime. There were some slight "buzzing" static heard, but then again that may be because I played it on an old television. Otherwise, no problems here.

VIDEO

Even though the OVA series is more recent than the Captain Tylor television series, it does show its age. There were some jagged edges seen on some of the characters, but nothing entirely distracting. Viewers should know that the OVA box set included both Captain Tylor OVAs, with the second being produced by a different set of people, therefore the character designs for the second OVA series look different. Although this may upset some people, it is a mixed blessing because the video quality is much better in the second OVA than it is in the first. A warning to those who play DVDs on their Playstation 2; I experienced some macro blocking when I played some of the music videos included with this release, but were absent when I played them on my regular DVD player. I did not experience any macro blocking in any of the OVA scenes, however, so don't despair.

PACKAGING

The Right Stuf, Inc. had this as their flagship series, so I was expecting something a little better. I was disappointed with their "Box Set" release of the Captain Tylor TV series, so I was expecting them to have made up for it in this release. However, although it isn't as bad as their Tylor TV box set, they couldn't pull off a nice package here. All you get is a triple Alpha case with all three DVD discs inside, with mediocre at best cover art. The silk screens on the DVDs, however, are great, especially the art used for the first DVD.

EXTRAS

The Right Stuf is slowly becoming a strong competitor in the extras department. The linear notes are back, and are as entertaining and informative as ever. Fans will surely appreciate all the hard work that was poured into translating when they read these. Quality stuff here, folks. More points go towards the inclusion of a handful of original Captain Tylor music videos that are sprawled among all 3 discs. This made me especially happy because I think the Tylor OVAs contain the best music heard in the Tylor series yet and the music videos certainly do the music justice.

MENU

Nothing really fancy here, but its simplicity and responsiveness make the menu design here really great. We are treated to animated menus that loop every 20 seconds or so, but what I really like are the menus in the chapter selection screens. Each chapter of each episode has its own animated clip of the scene, allowing you to "preview" each scene almost a minute into the chapter. However, chapter selection can be slightly tedious because the chapters are arranged in a circle with an arrow circling and highlighting each chapter as it passes around and the only way to select a chapter is to wait for the arrow to highlight the chapter you wish to select. But it isn't anything too annoying because the arrow moves fairly fast.

CONTENT

Did I mention how much I love this OVA set?

The Tylor OVAs prove two things: 1)it continues to show the same wacky characters we all know and love and 2) it shows that each character isn't flat and lifeless. In other words, Tylor fans will love-and for some, hate-the OVAs. The first OVA series is a two part episode that shows what happened immediately after the TV series ended. Having been produced not too long after the series ended, it retains the same qualities that the TV series had. It's your classic Captain Tylor. However, it does set the stone for the drama-filled path the second OVA embarks on. We soon see that despite the crew of the Soyokaze finding newfound trust and respect at the end of the TV series, it quickly fades away and we find the crew doubting Tylor as a leader.

The second OVA is definitely a 180-turn. Not only is the focus more dramatic, but each OVA episode focuses on a specific crew member. This makes the story of the second OVA a little complicated because the episodes do not necessarily go in order, and some episodes all concur at the same time as another. However, the second OVA is a refreshing perspective, and to some, a newfound respect for this underrated series. We begin to see how human and fragile these characters are. The story development is laid down thick and heavy here, but if you like a good plot and fleshed out characters and don't mind a more serious tone, then you will love this OVA. The only disheartening thing with this OVA is that there is hardly any Harumi. It is explained in the linear notes, and it certainly interesting.

Overall, I can't recommend this released enough. Tylor fans should definitely pick this up, and those not familiar with the Soyokaze's crew should definitely view the TV series before they pick this up, otherwise they will be at a loss.